Choices
by DangerTaylor
Summary: Caroline's life has been full of choices, some with positive results while others come with regrets, but she cannot be upset about where those choices have led her, for they all have brought about the productive life she now leads. A trip home for her 10 year high school reunion will throw her for a loop as she has to face her regrets.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Caroline sat in the musty smelling waiting room, trying to occupy her thoughts by playing with a loose thread on her sweatshirt. He sat beside her, his knee bouncing in a nervous rhythm, eyes glued to his phone.

The thoughts that ran through her mind were not new; how stupid and reckless she had been, how she was brought up better than this, and how she had hoped that he would step up to the plate.

During the two hour drive into the city she had thought about calling the whole thing off, asking him to turn the car around, tell her mother and suffer the consequences, but as she looked over at him and his blank expression, as if they were just driving to another day at school, she knew that they were doing the right thing.

So she kept quiet and read over the appointment card in her hands for the hundredth time.

Caroline had thought at one time that she loved him; she had dreamed about him and desperately yearned for him, but all of that ended the day he handed her that little white card. On it was scribbled a date and time that would change her life forever.

* * *

**AN: What am I thinking starting a new story? This just popped in my head today and I had to get it down. I'll keep working at it. I'm also working on updating Ring in Return. **

**I have also started on as the beta for the story Louder Than Thunder. If you have read it at all or plan to, expect some big changes to take place. **


	2. 1

**1. **

Caroline saw the car pull up from her front window, "Bye mom!" she yelled over her shoulder as she grabbed her bag from the front hall, "I'll see you tonight after practice."

The blonde sixteen year old trotted down her porch stairs and out to the waiting car, "Hey Bekah. Hey Nik….Kol." She offered in greeting as she slid into the back seat, slightly annoyed that she was stuck back there with Kol again, he was always such a perv.

Rebekah, Niklaus, and Kol Mikaelson were siblings. They moved here from Wales about a year ago and Caroline and Bekah had become instant friends since they were on the cheerleading squad together.

Caroline and Bekah were both sophomores, Kol a junior, and Niklaus, or Nik as he liked to be called, was a senior at Mystic Falls High. She caught rides with them since she didn't have a car yet, her mother being a single parent and a police officer didn't afford them much expendable cash, but the Mikaelson's on the other hand were loaded.

Her friendship with Rebekah wasn't completely selfless, though she would never admit it, Caroline had befriended the other blonde because from the day she first met Nik, she was half in love with him.

_Caroline was so nervous for her first year of high school. Sure she had friends coming over from her middle school but this was the last four years before she would be an adult, expected to go off to college, have a career, a family…all of that was so scary and seemed so far off, but standing in the front of Mystic Falls High, Caroline felt her future looming over her. _

_Along with the feeling of dread about growing up, she also felt someone knock in to her. "Hey, watch it!" She yelled from the sidewalk as a guy on a skateboard unapologetically waved her off. With a huff she started to gather her books from the ground when she heard his voice._

_"Here, let me help you with that."_

_Looking up to see the owner of the voice, Caroline was awestruck by the good-looking boy who was assisting her. He had short curly sandy blonde hair, stormy blue eyes, and an English accent that made her melt. She could tell that he was older by the blonde stubble that painted his cheeks and chin. He wore dark jeans, a short sleeved V-neck shirt, and Converse shoes. _

_Still unmoved, and surely looking foolish with her mouth stuck in the shape of an O, Caroline finally snapped out of her daze and went about collecting her things again, "Oh, thank you, but it's really not necessary."_

_He reached down, grabbing her elbow and helping her stand, "That ars should be watching where he is going." Releasing her as soon as she was stable on her own two feet he shifted his backpack and stuck out his hand, "I'm Nik."_

_Shoving a few more things back in to her purse, Caroline wiped her sweat and dirt covered hand on her denim skirt, "Caroline." she shook his hand, "You are new in town," she stated before mentally slapping herself in the forehead. "Cause I don't recognize you from the middle school, and well the accent kind of gives it away…I'm sorry I'm rambling." _

_He couldn't help but chuckle at the young blonde. He knew he had this effect on the opposite sex, back at his old school he would have a different date every weekend if he so chose. _

_Just then the bell rang. "It's quite alright." Nik said, shifting his bag again and heading for the doors to the school, "I'll see you around Caroline," he called before disappearing into the school. _

It was later that day when Nik picked Rebekah up from cheer try-outs that Caroline decided to try and strike up a friendship with the brooding fourteen year old blonde.

Their mother, Esther, was American, their father, Mikael, an Englishman. After spending almost thirty years in Wales, and many failed businesses under Mikael's management, they decided to moved back to Esther's hometown, where her family owned a large estate.

Rebekah had a hard time adjusting to the move to America, and Caroline would like to think that she made the transition a little less painful, since now they were basically joined at the hip.

So every morning on the way to school, Caroline would try to steal glances with Nik in the rear view mirror while fighting off the advances of Kol and gossiping with Rebekah.

She loved when Nik came to her rescue and threaten physical pain upon Kol if he didn't stop harassing her. This always earned her a smile and wink through the mirror.

They had their flirtations throughout the year, he had even taken her to one of the homecoming dances, though she felt it was more or less him taking pity on his kid sister's friend, since no one had asked her to the dance yet.

There were the late night sleep over's where they would all gather in the Mikaelson's basement media room and watch scary movies. Some how Nik and Caroline would always end up sitting next to each other. When the bad guy would pop out from behind a corner, Caroline would jump and grab on to Nik's leg, just out of instinct.

The first few times this happened, she would blush from embarrassment and quickly remove her hand from his leg. Caroline would then shift in her seat, creating more room between them so that she wouldn't be tempted to reach out for him during the next scary scene.

Nik never mentioned anything about these little interactions. He saw a lot of good in Caroline, not only for taking to his sister and his whole crazy family so quickly, but she just had this inner joy that radiated out of her. That is why he liked being around her, because she brought along hope.

During winter break of that first year the Mikaelsons went back over to England to visit family for the Christmas season. Caroline missed them, but was able to talk with Rebekah over IM chat.

They returned a few days before school started back up and Caroline threaten to ride her bike over to their house, even though there was two feet of snow on the ground. Finally her mom had agreed to drop her daughter off on her way into work.

Since Caroline's mom, Liz, some times worked nights it was agreed upon that those nights Caroline would stay with Rebekah. Liz and Esther had gone to school together before the latter ran off to England for university and met her soul mate.

So tonight Caroline would catch back up with her friends and have one last slumber party before school started for the spring term. She practically bounced down the walkway up to the stately door. She didn't even have to knock before the large door was swung open and she was being attacked by Rebekah.

"Oh I missed you so much Care!" Rebekah said as she hugged her friend.

"Me too, Bekah." Caroline answered returning the hug.

Caroline's mom honked the car horn from the driveway, waving bye to the girls before heading to work. The two blondes hurried inside with Caroline's over night bag and they went straight for the kitchen.

"Mom is making pizza tonight." Rebekah called over her shoulder.

Caroline waved to Kol who was sitting in the kitchen's eating area. She knew that they had two older siblings, Finn who was married and still lived in Wales with his wife, and Elijah who was at university in London. Rebekah had one younger brother, Henrik, but he had died of cancer a few years before they moved here.

Esther was a typical homemaker, with so many children there was no way for her to have time for education or a career. Caroline envied her friends; to always have a mother around, to have a warm meal prepared every night, and just the company of a large family. She had always wished for a sibling, but her parents had divorced before that could happen.

"Everything smells delicious Esther." Caroline commented, going over to hug the woman who was like a second mother to her. "I'm going to run up stairs and put my things in your room Bekah."

The other blonde waved from the table where she was fighting with Kol over which side of the plate the fork goes on.

The Mikaelson home was very large, being one of the older estates in the county and passed down through many generations of Esther's family it was built to accommodate a large family.

Rebekah's room was in the 'kids wing' of the house, which consisted of six bedrooms with adjoining baths down the north side of the home. Mikael and Esther had their own wing on the south side of the estate.

She quickly went to the last room on the left and placed her bag on the large bed. She paused to look around the professionally decorated room. It had become a second home to her and she couldn't imagine her life without them in it.

As Caroline turned to leave the room she jumped, "Nik you scared me." She placed her hand over her heart, which was racing in her chest, "What have I told you about lurking."

He gave her his signature smirk, "I can't help myself, I love seeing the blush that comes over you when you are scared."

Caroline's breath caught. He was being more flirtation that usual. Determined to not let him see his effect on her she pushed back her shoulders, "How was you Christmas?"

"Cold, and yours?"

"Same."

They laughed together, relaxing into their normal banter.

Nik seemed to be debating something in his mind before he finally spoke, "I have something for you." He quickly turned and walked from his sister's room, going back down the hall to his own room.

Caroline followed but paused at the doorway. She had been in his room before but she never entered without being invited. When he looked back at her and nodded his head, she walked across the dark wood floor over to his desk.

He pulled a small notebook from his backpack, which still had the airport tags attached to it. There was a thin red ribbon tied in a bow around it, "Here."

Giving him an unsure look, Caroline took the gift, carefully pulling at the ribbon and placing it on his desk, "Thanks for the…journal?" Caroline didn't understand why he was giving this to her, sure she kept a diary, but he didn't know that…or she hoped he didn't know that because it was filled with filthy thoughts of him.

The smirk was back again, "Open it."

She did as she was told and opened the simple black leather cover. The first page was just for her name, which was written in a scrolled font, she ran her finger over her name before turning the page.

Her breath caught in her throat, on each page was a drawing, sometimes of her, or her and Rebekah, or just scenes from around town. He had been able to capture candid moments and some drawings from memory, like her with her ridiculous up-do from homecoming.

"Nik this is amazing…a little creepy…but still amazing." She smiled up at him, "Thank you."

His eyes were burning into hers; she felt her skin heat up and a blush form across her pale chest. Before she could react his lips were on hers, entangled in a passionate kiss.

This was everything she hoped for, everything she dreamed it would be. She had spent many night thinking about what his lips would feel like, how long would he wait to deepen the kiss, or where he would put his hands.

It was all too much though. It didn't matter how much she cared about him, because she cared about Rebekah more. His sister was her best friend and if she kept on with him, if they ended up dating, it would only end in pain. He was set to go off to college at the end of the school year and Caroline would be left behind. If their relationship went south it could hurt her friendship with Rebekah. She didn't want that.

As her mind screamed at her body, Caroline drew the strength to push him back. Breathing hard from his intense kiss, she kept her eyes closed, leaning her head against his chest.

Nik peppered the top of her head with kisses, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. He had just crossed so many boundaries that he was unsure if there was any going back from this. All he knew was that he cared about Caroline and wanted her, only her.

Finally taking in a few calming breathes, Caroline lifted her head, unshed tears in her eyes, "I can't do this," was all she said before running from the room.

He was left standing there, confused and dejected. Seeing the journal that he had just gifted to Caroline sitting on his bedroom floor he picked it up and threw it across the room. It landed with a thud at the back of his closet.

Dinner that night was awkward to say the least. Caroline and Nik refused to look at each other. Esther explained that Mikael had stayed behind in England to take care of some business while Rebekah went on and on about everything she had done on their three week holiday.

"I showed a friend of mine your picture and he really wants to meet you." Rebekah started but when she noticed that Caroline wasn't listening she tapped her friend on the arm, "Hello, earth to Caroline."

"Oh, sorry…I was thinking about something…" Caroline tried to control her blush, "What were you saying?"

Rebekah huffed, "I was saying that my friend, Peter, wants to meet you. Just think, if we go off to Uni together you two would be perfect for each other."

Nik snorted, "Doubtful…and who says she want to go to school in England?"

"Hello, she's never even been out of this state…of course she want to go to school in England!"

He changed a glance at Caroline, who was busy studying her dinner plate, while Rebekah continued on about all of the colleges back in their home county. Having finished his dinner, he roughly pushed back his chair and excused himself, placing his dishes in the sink on the way out of the kitchen.

"What's stuck up his ars?" Kol snickered.

Esther reached out and slapped the back of his head, "No cursing at the table."

This in turn made Rebekah laugh, "It's probably puberty."

"That's enough, both of you." Esther pointed at her two younger children. "Now do the dishes before you settle in for the night."

Both Kol and Rebekah did a chorus of, "Ah man," in protest, but did as they were told, rinsing the dishes before loading them in to the dishwasher.

Heading back up stairs they passed Nik's room on the way to Rebekah's. There was loud rock music coming from behind the closed door, "Something has him upset, he only listens to that album when he is doing his 'angry painting'."

Caroline tired to act as if she didn't care, shrugging her shoulders and following her friend. They each took showers and changed in to the pajamas, before painting each other's toenails.

"You want to go watch a movie down stairs?" Bekah asked.

Wiggling her newly painted pink toenails, Caroline nodded.

"Sweet, I'll go down and get everything started, including popcorn and ice cream. You go see if Nik and Kol want to join."

Before Caroline could object, Rebekah was already out of the room and halfway down the hall. With a large sigh, she collected her thoughts; she would go ask Kol first, saving Nik for last, in case there was discussion that she didn't want over heard.

Kol was easy, he had already made plans to meet up with the guys from the soccer team, so he was on his way to the Mystic Grill to shoot some pool. That left Nik. She stood in front of his door for a few moments, wanting to just lie to Rebekah and say that he didn't want to join, but she knew that her friend would see right through her.

So with a shaky hand, she knocked. A moment later the door cracked open.

"What?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

Caroline looked to the floor, "Bekah and I are going to watch a movie, she wanted to know if you wanted to join us…but I guess you are busy." She didn't even bother looking up at him before she tried to turn and leave.

His hand wrapped around her arm and she was being jerked into his room, her back up against his closed door.

"Please don't kiss," she almost whispered.

"Trust me sweetheart, I wouldn't dare." He sneered the words out at her.

She looked up at him, expecting to see anger, but all that showed in his eyes was hurt. "I'm sorry Nik, I didn't mean to run away like that earlier."

"Oh I'm sure you could have come up with a better way of rejecting me."

Caroline was taken back by his words, "Rejecting you?"

"Usually when a girl runs away from you crying saying, and I quote, 'I can't do this', it is a rejection." Nik continued his deep gaze, "Do you flirt and lead guys on as a rule or is that special treatment just for me?"

"Me, leading you on? Seriously?" Caroline did everything in her power to keep her voice below a yell, "I have practically worshiped you since the day we met, and while you have been kind to me, you have treated me more like a sister."

He was not expecting her to be so honest about her feelings, "So you like me?"

"Yes you idiot!"

"Then why did you push me away?" He stepped closer to her, reaching up to pull a curl over her shoulder.

Caroline sighed, wanting nothing more than to lean into his touch, "Because of Rebekah."

"What about her? Does she disapprove?"

"She has never said anything about it, one way or the other, but if this goes south I can't risk our friendship, I love her and your family too much to loose any of you."

Leaning in to her even more, he placed a soft kiss to her cheek, "She doesn't have to know."

"That's not the point." Caroline stepped around him, not liking being pinned between the door and his tempting body.

He turned away from the door to face her, "So you are rejecting me…again."

She groaned and mentally kicked herself. The guy of her dreams was right in front of her, offering himself to her on a freaking sliver platter and she had to say no, "For now…I'm afraid so."

Not wanting to cry in front of him, she tried to hurry past him to the door but he caught her arm again.

"You have given me reason to hope," he softly placed his lips on hers, feeling her relax under his touch.

As quickly as it started, Caroline parted from him, giving him a sad smile before walking out of the door.


	3. 2

2.

"Hey Care, you want to come over after practice and help me with my Bio project?" Rebekah had the locker right next to Caroline's so they often talked between classes.

Caroline had spent the past three weeks trying to avoid situations that left her alone with Nik. She had made her choice clear to him and it wasn't that she thought he would disrespect her decision, but she was afraid of her own reaction to any more advances.

He didn't stop being attractive to her just because she turned him down, it was the exact opposite, but she still held firm that she wouldn't let her desire for him jeopardize her friendships.

With a small smile Caroline nodded, "Sure, but do you mind if we do it at my house? I have…uh…laundry to do."

Rebekah just gave her a side ways glance, "Sure, I'll just let Nik know that we'll walk home then."

Caroline's next class was French, so as the bell rang she collected her books and headed off towards the back of the school.

"Bonjour classe."

"Bonjour Madame Burns," the class answered in unison.

This was Caroline's second year of French already and she couldn't get enough of it. While studying the language she was also learning the history and culture of the French people, she dreamed of going there one day, perhaps even living there, but for now she was stuck in a classroom in a tiny town.

"Tu es magnifique."

Caroline looked behind her from where the voice had come and rolled her eyes.

Tyler Lockwood.

Star of the soccer team, son of the mayor, and school playboy. He was a year a head of Caroline and she had heard rumors that he like to prey on the underclassman because he preferred to be a girl's first, not that he hung around long afterwards.

She muttered a quick _Merci _and then turned back to face the teacher. She couldn't be bothered with him; she had too much on her mind as it was, the last thing she needed was another boy chasing after her.

Then the light bulb when off.

If she could distract herself from thinking about Nik by showing interest in Tyler that may also let Nik know that she had moved on and he could go off the college a free man.

Acting quickly, so she couldn't talk herself out of it later, she wrote her number down on a piece of loose leaf paper and passed it back to him with a coy smile. She knew that he understood when she heard him hum in approval.

Since it was still too cold out to have cheer practice out on the field, the ladies were working on their routine in the gym.

The basketball team was using the court and the soccer team was in the weight room, which meant that the cheerleaders had the small area that was created when the bleachers were pushed back.

After changing out of their school clothes and into shorts and tee-shirts the ladies filed out of the girls locker room and got into formation.

"Hey Nik, how about you take your eyes off the cheerleaders and come spot me."

Nik was on the varsity soccer team with his brother and they always made sure to keep up with their conditioning. He was standing in the doorway of the weight room, looking out over the gym as Caroline led the girls in their stretches. He couldn't get her off his mind.

Tyler came up to stand beside him, "They are fine to look at, aren't they?"

Nik just smiled, he knew that Tyler was a man-whore and he had more than warned his sister and Caroline about the younger boy's ways, he just felt bad for any girl that fell into Tyler's trap.

"I just got the digits of that blonde one today." He pointed across the gym towards the group of girls.

Nik stood up straight, "Dude, that's my sister."

Tyler hit him on the arm playfully, "No man, I know she's off limits, I meant the other blonde."

"Caroline?" Nik thought that he was going to see red. He couldn't imagine what would drive her to give Tyler Lockwood of all people her phone number, but then it hit him. "She's off limits too." He said between gritted teeth.

"Let me guess, you have dibs?" Tyler laughed, looking at him slyly. "Oh man, don't tell me that you've hit that already? How was it, she seems like she would be a spit fire in bed."

This time Nik did see red, before he knew what was happening his fist was connecting with Tyler's face. He got a few good hits in until guys from the team pulled them apart.

"What the hell man? I was just messing with you. If you've already had her then she not my type anyways."

Nik lunged at him again, but the coach finally came over. "Cool it Mikaelson! Go take a walk and clear your head."

Walking for the door he picked up his jacket on the way out. He went across the gym towards the cheerleaders.

They were running through their newest cheer but they all stopped when he approached, "Sorry ladies, but I was wondering if I could steal Caroline for a moment?"

Elena, the team captain and a girl that Caroline had known in middle school smiled widely at him, "Sure, take all the time you need Nik." She winked at him before bending over to stretch, but really was just trying to show off for him.

Caroline looked like a deer in headlights as Nik approached her. He gestured towards the door that led to the lobby and placed his hand at the small of her back, having to give her a little push.

As soon as the doors closed behind them he started to pace. Caroline just watched him, not knowing what was coming. After a few minutes she was starting to get cold, the building was old and the glass doors didn't hold in much heat. She started to rub her arms to keep warm.

Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Nik stopped his pacing and walked over to her, placing his jacket over her shoulders. She pulled it tight around her, enjoying the warmth and the scent of Nik that lingered in the fabric.

"If you aren't going to talk, I'm going back to practice." She finally broke the silence.

Nik knew it was now or never, "Tyler Lockwood…really Caroline?"

_Shit,_ she cursed herself. How had he heard about that already, her plan was falling apart.

"You know what kind of guy he is," he paused, the next topic making him uncomfortable, "what he will do to you, yet you encourage him?"

Caroline was shocked by his bluntness, "What I do and who I see is no concern of yours."

He scoffed, "You are always so stubborn."

She just glared at him.

"If this is about us…"

"There is no us," she cut him off.

"So you keep reminding me," he said under his breath. "You know I care about you, and though I can't have you as I would like, I will still protect you the same way I would protect Bekah. Tyler is bad news, he will only hurt you." He took a step towards her, standing mere inches from her, "You deserve so much better than what he is planning for you. Your first time should be with someone you love, and that loves you in return…"

Caroline blushed then rolled her eyes, "What makes you think that he will be my first, that there hasn't already been someone else?"

Nik reached up and grazed the pad of his thumb over the apple of her cheek, "Caroline, I know you better than that."

Her breath hitched with his closeness, she feared he might kiss her again, "Why do you care?"

They looked into each other's eyes, neither one of them wanting to back down, his lips set into a firm line as the battle raged in his head, should he lie or tell her the truth.

"Because it should be me, and you know it."

She could have fainted right then and there. All of the air was sucked out of her lungs and she started to see spots. His words had stopped all higher function and she could just stand there and stare back into his stormy eyes.

His words echoed around in her head, her first time should be with someone who love her, and wanted it to be him; Nik loved her and all she could do was stand there, in total and utter shock.

"I have to be get back," she was finally able to mutter and as she blinked she was released for the spell he held over her. She quickly turned towards the door and went back to practice without another word, throwing his letterman jacket on the ground as she went.

Nik punched the wall closest to him; his already bleeding knuckles breaking open in protest. He wondered how many more ways could he screw things up with Caroline before she completely wanted nothing to do with him.

Back in formation, Rebekah looked over at her friend with concern mouthing, _'What was that about?'_ and getting a _'We will talk about it later'_ in return.

The girls bundled up and set out of the mile walk to Caroline's house. The snow was no longer on the ground but the air still held the late January chill.

"So what did Nik want?"

Caroline sighed, her breath showing in the air, "I kind of gave Tyler my number."

Rebekah looked confused, "Tyler from World History? Why would Nik care, Tyler is a nice guy."

"No, not Tyler Wells," Caroline confessed, not able to ever lie to her best friend, "I mean Lockwood."

"You are kidding right?"

Caroline just shrugged.

They were silent for the rest of the way; Rebekah didn't want to make a scene on the sidewalk, the people in this town liked to gossip, but anger was stewing within her.

Once inside the Forbes' house Rebekah let her friend have it. "What were you thinking? Lockwood? You know his reputation!"

She knew this was coming, "He can't be all that bad, girls still flock to him like flies to honey."

"And that doesn't concern you?"

Again Caroline didn't have an answer for her friend. She couldn't tell Rebekah the real reason why she was considering Tyler, Rebekah couldn't know.

"Look Bekah, it's been a while since a guy has shown interest in me and I'm not stupid, I'll be careful. I'm not some child that needs protection, I can make my own choices." Her words were a little harsh but she wanted to get off the topic.

Rebekah had the decency to look ashamed, "I'm sorry Care, I know that you are able to take care of yourself…I just don't want you to get hurt." She went to hug her friend, "Hell, at this point I would rather see you with my brother," she commented off handedly.

Caroline stiffened in her friend's embrace. How had she found out? She was starting to panic and laughed nervously, "Why would you say that?"

"Kol has been chasing after you since last summer, even though I think that he does just to get a rise out of you."

Breathing a sigh of relief Caroline laughed with her friend, "Let's hope that is true and not that he actually likes me." She was having a hard enough time keeping one Mikaelson at arms length; she didn't think she could handle two.

Despite both Rebekah and Nik's warnings, when Tyler called her a few days later she had agreed to go out with him that Saturday night. She didn't think there was any harm in one date and if they hit it off, she might just have a Valentine this year.

So as she stood in front of the full length mirror up in her room, smoothing out the yellow dress she had chosen for her date, she started to rethink the whole thing. Sure she had started the flirtation to get her mind off Nik, but now she was really going through with this date…with a guy who had a reputation of hurting girls.

Thinking it was too late to back out now, she grabbed her purse off of her bed and headed down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before Tyler picked her up.

"You look nice sweetie." Her mom commented, "What are your plans tonight?"

Caroline had gone over in her head if she would tell her mother about her date, but seeing on how he was suppose to be on her doorstep in less than five minutes she didn't see the choice. "I'm going to the Grill with a boy from school."

"Oh, tell me about him." Liz inquired, trying to have some interest in her daughter's life, plus she wanted to make sure it wasn't anyone she had ever arrested.

Hoping that his reputation was only known among her fellow classmate, Caroline told her mother the truth, "It's Tyler Lockwood."

"Oh." Liz was not thrilled with this news. Even though the boy was the son of the mayor, she had heard from another officer down at the station that Tyler was very promiscuous. "Caroline, we've already talked about sex before, but I just want you to know that you can come to me…about anything." She hated to embarrass her daughter, but she had to restate her concern.

Caroline turned red up to her hairline, "Mom it's only a date…and anyways, I have more respect for myself than to give it away like that." It was Caroline's turn to smile as she made her mother uncomfortable.

"I know sweetie. I'm also not blind to the fact that some of your friends might be having sex already, but I just hope that you come to me when you start to think about it so that we can take the proper precautions." She had seen so many domestic fights happen between young people forced together by an unwanted pregnancy.

Just then the doorbell rang causing Caroline to jump in surprise. When her mom got up from the kitchen table to go answer the door, Caroline stopped her, "Don't get up, I'll get it."

Liz wanted to size up this boy and let him know in a subtle way that she knew what he was up to, but instead she trusted her daughter. Caroline had never given her any reason to think other wise, she was a good kid, with a solid sense of logic; over all she was blessed to have such an amazing young woman as a daughter.

"Be home by ten," Liz called as Caroline rushed towards the door.

"I will," she called back, seeing Tyler standing on her porch through the window on the front door.

With a smile, which he returned, Caroline opened the door, "Hey," she breathed out, "you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Tyler answered, looking behind Caroline into the entry of her home, seeing her mom, Officer Forbes standing there, giving him a pointed glance.

He knew that getting Caroline to let down her guard and let him work his magic on her was going to take some effort with Mikaelson and Fearsome Forbes on patrol, but he always enjoyed a challenge.

* * *

**AN: Hope everyone is enjoying this. I'm having tons of fun with it. Leave me some love and feedback. ;)**


	4. 3

3.

They didn't have to wait long to be seated in one of the back booth at the Mystic Grill. The waitress came right over and got their drink orders and Caroline looked around awkwardly since Tyler wasn't trying to make conversation.

"So you're on the soccer team," she started, figuring that he would like to talk about himself.

Tyler smiled a little too long at the waitress as she brought them a coke and a sweet tea. "Yeah, I've played since I was like five so I've been on varsity since freshman year. They are really lucky to have me and I can finally be the captain next year when I'm a senior and Mikaelson leaves."

Caroline went to speak but was interrupted.

"Speaking of him, what is the deal with you and Mikealson? He totally freaked out the other day."

Having just taken a sip of her soda, Caroline chocked and almost spit her drink out all over the table, "What do you mean? There's nothing going on."

Tyler rolled his eyes, "It's cool if you want to keep it on the DL, but he decked me pretty good that day in the weight room." He pointed to the fading bruise on his cheek.

"He hit you?"

"Twice!" Tyler laughed at her stunned face.

Nik had punched Tyler in the face just for getting her phone number. Taking that, along with his backwards way of telling her that he loved her, and Caroline didn't know what she was doing here, on this God awful date with the schools man-whore.

She giggled before she caught herself, all the while Tyler was giving her a disapproving glance, "It's not funny, he could have messed up this perfection." He pointed to his face and gave her a smirk and a wink.

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "He is just protective over me, like Rebekah…" Yes this sounded convincing, "…he only thinks of me as a sister, so don't worry."

Tyler nodded smugly, "As if he could compete with this," and gestured towards his body.

Caroline again laughed as his cockiness. Perhaps some girls ate this kind of thing up, but she knew that it was just an act, an over compensation for something.

The date went on in this fashion, she ordered a salad and he ordered a burger. He offered to shoot pool with her but she made up an excuse about having to be home early to help her mom with something.

Tyler paid the check and drove her home, "I had a great time tonight Caroline." He moved in close to her.

Turing her face at the last moment, Caroline felt his rough lips touch her cheek. "Me too, we should do it again soon."

Reaching for the doorknob, she slipped into her house before he could try anything else. She waved at him though the window in the door and waited for him to turn and walk down to his car so she could let the chill run through her.

"What was I thinking?" She mused to herself.

She took a shower to get the smell of his over powering cologne out of her hair and then sat down on the couch with a pint of cookies and cream and reruns of Friends.

Two weeks later in the car on the way to school, Rebekah leaded over towards her friend, "So what are your plans for Valentine's day?"

Caroline's eyes met Nik's in the rear view mirror, "I think Tyler is taking me out." She answered.

"Ugh, you're not over him yet?"

Caroline sighed, "He not that bad Bekah, plus we went over this, it's my choice who I date." She whispered the last part hoping that the boys in the front seat didn't hear.

"Whatever," Rebekah huffed, flipping her blonde hair out of her face.

Trying to get her mind off of Tyler, Caroline turned back to her friend, "What are you doing for Valentine's day?"

"Same thing I do any other day…"

"Why don't you ask Matt out? He seems nice enough."

Rebekah scoffed, "Matt is hot and all but there isn't a whole lot going on up stairs if you know what I mean."

Matthew Donovan was on the football team and while his blonde hair, blue eyes, all American look was tempting, Rebekah didn't feel any sort of draw towards him. She would rather sit home alone than waste energy pretending to be interested in someone; too bad she couldn't say the same from her friend. Caroline and Tyler had nothing in common and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why she kept going on dates with him.

"He has that sweet innocents to him though…" Caroline tried to press.

"Gosh Caroline, I'm not into him, stop pushing."

Caroline felt embarrassed now, she knew that Rebekah was very guarded, and didn't like to put herself out there to get hurt. She shouldn't be pushing her into a already doomed relationship.

"I'm sorry Bekah. If you want I can cancel with Tyler and stay in with you."

"That sounds like a great idea," Nik said under his breath from the drivers seat.

Kol glanced at his brother in question before turning back to his comic book.

"No, don't worry about me. You go have fun with _Tyler_." Rebekah smiled softly.

What Caroline was expecting to be a romantic dinner out with Tyler turned out to be a large house party. His parents had gone away for a long weekend so he invited half of the school over to the Lockwood estate. The house was decorated more like a old whore house rather than a romantic environment.

The red candles, turned down chandeliers, and Mrs. Lockwood's red velvet settee grouping just added to the cheesy atmosphere. Caroline had to giggle to herself at the sight of it.

She recognized a few girls from the cheerleading squad, including Elena with her new boy toy from the community college one town away.

"Hey Care, I want you to meet my _friend_, Damon." Elena came up with a dark haired man with intense eyes.

Caroline smiled and waved a quick hello before Elena pulled the man further into the house towards the Mayor's study where a small bar was set up. Pulling out her phone she sent a text to Rebekah, asking if she was coming to the party. She had been here for ten minutes already and hadn't seen Tyler yet.

She almost screamed when someone came up behind her and grabbed her around the waist.

"Hey babe, when did you get here?" Tyler asked moving from behind her and putting one of his arms around her shoulders.

Cringing at his endearment, Caroline faked a smile back to him and answered, "Just a few minutes ago," she lied.

"Good, come and let me get you a drink."

This wouldn't be the first time she had ever drank alcohol, but when she did it last time it was in the safety of the Mikaelson's basement. Rebekah and her had spiked their milkshakes with some Irish Cream, which just gave them a bad case of the giggles while watching Bring It On.

Deciding to take it easy, she made herself a rum and coke, easy on the rum, and watched as Tyler did two shots of whiskey before pouring a big helping into a glass and topping it off with coke.

_So much for a nice quiet night with the guy I'm pretending to like, _Caroline thought seeing Tyler fist bump one of the guys from the soccer team. She wondered if maybe Nik was around here somewhere, but he wasn't really one for partying, so most likely not.

Seeing that Tyler was busying himself with talking to some seniors that Caroline didn't know, she made her way towards the living room, which had some music playing over the surround sound. Caroline found a few girls she knew and danced for a few songs, finishing her drink and going to the kitchen to put her glass away.

Again Tyler was nowhere to be found, but Elena and Damon were in the kitchen huddled around a bottle of amber liquor.

"Caroline! You must join us!" Elena drunk slurred at her.

Bored with dancing, not wanting to seem desperate in going to find Tyler, and thinking it was too early to go home she stepped up to the kitchen island with them.

"Damon brought this from his dorm," Elena said, pouring three shots.

Caroline nodded once, "Don't you think you've had enough?"

Elena laughed, "You only live once Caroline, don't be a stick in the mud."

"I am not a stick in the mud, I'm just reasonable and responsible."

"Boring!" Elena yelled at her with a giggle. "When you are older and look back on this time in your life won't you regret not taking more chances?"

Her drunk rambling made Caroline think of what she was really doing here. Avoiding the boy that she loved, and who loved her, to hang around with a guy that pretty much disgusted her.

"You're right Elena, pass one of those over." Caroline held her hand out to take the shot glass and with a slow exhale she brought the glass to her lips and threw back her head.

The liquor burned her mouth and down her throat as she swallowed. It had a bitter taste and she grimaced, slamming the empty shot glass down on the counter top. "Pour me another!"

This went on for another hour before Caroline heard one of her favorite songs come on the stereo and she pulled Elena out onto the make shirt dance floor.

Tyler watched from across the room as a very drunk Caroline grinded on an equally intoxicated Elena Gilbert. He was rather liking the view, but in Caroline's condition she wouldn't last long and his window of opportunity was closing quickly.

He moved through the mass of people and grabbed her around the waist again, turning her to face him.

"Having a good time babe?"

"Absolutely! I've never had this much fun," Caroline yelled over the music.

Tyler smiled, "I'm glad…" he licked his lips and looked down at her, "You are so sexy right now."

Not a moment later he leaned into her and their lips met. The kiss was sloppy and he used too much tongue for Caroline's liking. He gripped her tightly against his chest as he continued to try and eat her face.

Without warning Caroline felt her stomach roll. She didn't know if it was just the alcohol or Tyler's cigarette tinged breath, but if she did not get away soon she would end up throwing up all over him.

With a firm shove she pushed Tyler away from her, throwing a hand over her mouth so he might understand and ran for the half bath on the lower level of the home. Pushing past a few girls that were waiting for the bathroom, Caroline slammed the door behind her, turning the lock and only just made it to the toilet before all of the snack foods and alcohol she had consumed that night violently came up.

She retched three or four times before she could come up for air. She was pale and sweaty, looking into the mirror her vision was blurred as she rinsed out her mouth and splashed some water on her face.

There was a knock on the door, "Care are you alright in there?" Came Elena's voice.

Clicking off the lock, she let the brunette into the bathroom. "I'm not feeling so well, I think I drank too much."

"How did you get here?"

Caroline fished around in her small shoulder bag, pulling out her phone, "I came with Anna, but I think she left already."

Elena thought for a moment, "Do you want me to call your mom?"

"No!" Caroline almost yelled. "She's a cop, you know how much shit I would be in if she had to come get me, plus she would shut the party down."

"So who can I call for you?"

Caroline knew who, but didn't want to go there, so she picked the next best thing, "Rebekah."

Elena scrolled though the numbers until she found the right one and hit the call button, four rings later a tired sounding female voice picked up, "Care it's one o'clock in the morning…"

"Hey Bekah, it's Elena. I'm with Caroline at Tyler's party and she sick, can you come get her?"

Rebekah groaned, she was only fifteen and didn't have a license and her parents would kill her if she drove without one, so she would have to go to one of her brothers. "Tell her to hang tight and I'll be there in as soon as I can."

The phone clicked as the call was ended and Rebekah shifted out of bed. Kol had his license but the car was Nik's, so she went right to him, knocking on his bedroom door.

When there was no reply, she cracked the door open seeing that the room was completely dark, "Nik!" She whispered loudly.

Still nothing, so she entered the room, crossing the wood floor and stood next to his bed, looking down on his sleeping face. She liked him best like this, he looked so peaceful, without a care in the world when she knew that he was stressing about graduation and going off to college soon.

"Nik, get up!" Rebekah used her normal voice and shook the bed with her foot.

In a delayed reaction, Nik shot straight up in bed, "What? Huh…I'm up, I'm up." His eyes focused in the dark seeing his sister standing over him, "God Rebekah what do you want?"

She put her hands on her hips, annoyed by his tone but it was understandable, she had just woken him up. "Caroline is at Tyler's party and got sick. She needs to be picked up."

At the sound of Caroline's name he pushed back his covers and put his feet on the cold ground, "Alright, give me a second to throw on some clothes."

Rebekah looked down at him and noticed that he was just in his boxers, "Yes please do. The last thing we need is her seeing you like that." She said with a disgusted look.

Nik decided to let the comment roll right off of him, too tired to come up with a smart reply, he just stood out of bed as his sister exited his room. Padding over to his dresser he pulled out a pair of lined track pants and an under shirt, it would have to do.

Grabbing a zip up sweater on his way out of the door he was surprised to see the hallway vacant and his sister's door closed. Shrugging his shoulders he headed down the stairs, thankful that he didn't park his car in the garage tonight. Taking his keys off the hook in the mudroom he slipped out the side door and got into his car.

Making sure to not turn on the headlights until he was out of the driveway, he headed for the Lockwood property. The drive took him about fifteen minutes since the two large estates were on opposite sides of town.

Pulling up outside of the smaller, but more historical home, he saw that the party was still in full swing. He parked at the end of the driveway so that he wouldn't have a problem getting back out onto the main road and headed for the front door.

Upon entering the house he had to push his way through drunken couples making out on every available surface. He spotted the dark spiky hair of Tyler from across the room, what he didn't expect was the leggy red head that was wrapped around him.

Crossing the room, Nik tapped Tyler on the shoulder.

"Hey Mikaelson! Join the party!"

The red head looked miffed for being disturbed from her make out session with the infamous Tyler Lockwood.

"I'm just here to pick up Caroline," he narrowed his eyes at the younger boy, "I'm surprised you are not with her since you guys are dating and everything."

"Yeah well I think I last saw her in the sunroom with Elena." Tyler completely ignored Nik's comment about him and Caroline being an item, he didn't want to ruin his chances with the red head tonight.

Rolling his eyes, Nik just walked away, making sure to shoulder bump Tyler on the way out of the room. He had been in the Lockwood home a few times so he knew his way around and went straight for the sunroom off the kitchen.

There laying on a whicker love seat was Caroline, her eyes closed and blonde curls in disarray. He knelt down next to her and touched her bare arm, "Caroline, wake up."

She knew the voice but just thought she was dreaming, with a sly smirk she rolled towards him, "Unless you are waking me up to do that thing with your tongue again…" She trailed off as she heard his chuckle and her eyes shot open.

Her face glowed red, "Nik, what are you doing here?"

Putting his arm around her back, he helped her sit up, "I'm going to take you home."

"Oh," Caroline looked around for other options but Elena was busy in Damon's lap.

"Come on, let's get you out of here before your mom gets home and finds you like this."

He could smell the alcohol on her, it was very unlike Caroline to drink this much and he wondered what had gotten in to her.

Helping her stand he had to support most of her weight. They left the same way he had come in and as he had hoped Caroline's eyes landed on Tyler pressing the red head up against the wall, her skirt almost around her waist.

Caroline knew what Tyler was before she agreed to all of this, and it wasn't that she necessarily like him, but seeing him so uncaring of her made her upset, mostly at herself. All the while the man that she did care for, that cared for her, had his arms tightly wrapped around her.

She didn't know why, perhaps it was the alcohol, but tears started to spill from her eyes as soon as they were out of the house. She managed to keep the sniffles to a minimum as they walked down to his car, but as he helped her into the passenger side she let it all go.

She cried; not only because of what a douch bag Tyler was, but because she had been so stupid giving up on Nik.

Nik got in the driver side and saw the tears falling down her cheeks "As much as I would love to say 'I told you so', I'm just sorry you got hurt."

This made Caroline cry harder. She must look a mess; drunk, crying, most likely with vomit on her dress, and make up running down her face. Yet all he could be was nice to her. What had she done in another life to deserve this kind of misfortune?

The drive to her house was quite. Her cries calmed down and she did her best to clean the tears off her face. The quaint one story home was dark when the pulled up on the street.

"Thank you, I guess." Caroline said, reaching for the door handle, but Nik turned off the car before she could get out.

He was around the car in a flash and helped her stand, walking up to her front door. "You don't have to help me in, I got it from here," she pulled out her keys, dropping them in the process. When she bent down to pick them up, her head was sent spinning and she fell over.

"How about you leave the judgment calls to someone who didn't drink too much tonight." He picked up the keys and Caroline before opening the door and helping her inside.

Reaching for the closest light switch, a dull glow came from the lamps in the living room. It was enough light to get him down the hall to her bedroom. Holding her by the elbow he let her flop down on her bed, "I'm going to go grab you some water and Tylenol." Nik figured that she would take this time to change her clothes and he could leave knowing she was safe in bed.

Once he was gone, Caroline stumbled her way into her bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth. She considered taking a shower but really just wanted to go to bed.

Pulling down the zipper of her dress it fell in a puddle at her feet, leaving her in a strapless bra and low rise panties. She ran her finger through her hair, just staring at her self in the mirror.

"Caroline? Are you alright in there?"

Standing there in her underwear, hair tousled, and eyes glazed from the liquor and crying she made up her mind. She stepped towards the door, flicking off the light switch, and placed her hand on the knob.

With one last deep breath she found her resolve and pulled open the door.

Nik had his back to her, setting a glass of water on her night stand, "I put the pills on your dresser and I plugged in your phone for you…"

His thoughts trailed off as he turned around after hearing the door to the bathroom open.

There in the darkened doorway was Caroline. He was forced to do a double take, her pale bra and panties made it almost appear as if she was nude, but her current attire didn't make her any less sexy in that moment.

* * *

**A little bit of a cliff hanger there but I will try to get some writing done tomorrow at work. Hope everyone likes it so far. Please leave some love and review, they make my day. **


	5. 4

4.

Nik didn't know what to do. Caroline had told him time and time again that they couldn't be more than friends, and she had rejected him on a number of occasions, but here she was, practically naked. So he just stood still and took in the curves of her body.

When he made no move towards her, Caroline dug down deep, found her resolve and stepped away from the bathroom door. It was only five steps to the foot of her bed, two more to stand in front of him. As she made her sixth step she stopped and really took in Nik's appearance.

His hair was messy and there were dark circles under his eyes. She realized that she had woken him up to come get her. Guilt started to creep into her mind until she noticed the slight bulge in his work out pants. Seeing his reaction to her rekindled the fire that allowed her to step a foot out of the bathroom in just her underwear in the first place.

Without another thought Caroline closed the distance between them, her lips covering his. She slowly snaked her arms over his shoulders and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him closer.

Not missing a beat, Nik's hands went to her waist. Her skin was so soft and he couldn't help himself as he slid one of his hands around to the small of her back, pulling her lower half against him.

It didn't take long for their actions to escalate, Caroline started by pushing him down onto her bed, crawling onto his lap as they continued kissing. Hovering over him she reached behind her and unclasped her bra, letting the garment fall to the floor.

"You are so beautiful," Nik said as he ran his hand up her toned stomach and over one of her breasts.

Letting out a whispered moan at his touch Caroline squeezed her thighs around his hips and rolled to her right, reversing their position so he was on top of her. She reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. She gazed up at his tight chest and abs as she ran her hands over every inch of his exposed flesh.

Lifting herself up on to her elbows, Caroline placed open mouth kisses along his chest, rolling her hips up into his, getting the friction that she so dearly needed.

Both of their breathing was labored, but with one last clear-headed thought Nik reached down, stilling her hips, "Caroline, stop." He couldn't believe the words crossing his lips, but as he rested his forehead against her shoulder and looked down on her perfect breast, heaving with each of her passion filled breaths, he knew that he was making the right choice.

Caroline pushed Nik off of her, quickly moving up to the head of her bed and pulling one of her pillows up to cover her chest, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Care," he crawled up the bed to sit next to her. "You are perfect, but you are also drunk, and I couldn't forgive myself if we did this and you regretted it in the morning."

Still hugging her pillow to her chest, she picked at a loose thread not wanting to look up at him, even though she could feel his eyes boring into her. She didn't know what to say, she had never had this much to drink before, and though she knew deep down that she wanted him, the fallout from their night together was unfathomable.

So when she didn't try to speak to him, Nik reached over and put his finger under her chin, turning her face to meet his, "Look Caroline, if this is meant to be, then it will, just not when you are drunk." He softly placed his lips to hers, thinking that this could possibly be the last time he would get the change to kiss her.

Caroline pulled away first, "You should go," was all she said before covering herself with the quilt and turning her back to him.

With a sigh, Nik collected his shirt from the floor, slipping it on over his head and walked towards the bedroom door. He turned to look at her one more time, "Good night Caroline," he whispered before closing the door behind him and headed out to his car for the short but thought filled drive home.

Over a month later Caroline was thankful that Nik went away with some friends for spring break, since she had already made plans to spend that time with Rebekah.

They never talked about that night, both of them just pretending that it didn't happen. She had woken up the next morning with a hangover and only wearing her panties. The events of the night came back to her slowly and she practically hid from him the week after.

Nik on the other hand remembered every painfully wonderful detail of what happened between them. The feel of her skin, her body pressed under his, her perky breasts and attentive nipples. The way she kissed him and moaned from his touch.

There were many times he would look across the lunchroom at her and these thoughts would cloud his mind, leaving him unable to stand up for at least ten minutes.

They really didn't spend much time together until Memorial Day weekend. They have been dancing around each other for months, but they were thrown together on this hot Saturday in May when the Mikaelson's had a picnic down at the falls.

Of course Liz was working since she got paid time and a half for working holidays, so Caroline was practically forced to join the Mikalesons' down at the Mystic Falls State Park for a weekend of swimming, tubing, camping, and fireworks.

The first day was so bad, Nik occupied himself with Kol and one of their other friends that had jointed them for the weekend. The boys had set up the three tents that would act as their home for the next three days, while the girls unpacked the food.

Since Caroline and Rebekah finished up early, they ran down to the restrooms and put on their bathing suits, ready to hit the cool spring water that fed the falls. The water was slightly cold, staying in the seventies due to the spring, but it was a welcome feeling in contrast to the hot May sun.

Before long the boys had joined them down at the water and they all decided to grab their tubes and go drifting down the river. There was a few mile stretch of river in the park that was used for tubing, with a van at the end to take everyone back to the campgrounds.

In order to say together, they each draped a leg over the next person's tube, and drifted in silence, enjoying the warm sun overhead.

About half way down, Caroline had fallen asleep causing her leg to slip off of Rebekah's tube. The current caught her and started to pull her away from the group. She woke with a start, almost tipping over her tube as she was grabbed around the ankle.

Nik, being at the back of the group saw Caroline come loose from their formation and reached out for her as she floated past him. With a gentle pull she was now budded up next to him, her sun kissed leg settled on his lap.

His intentions started off innocent, but as he ran his fingers up her creamy skin from her ankle to her knee he couldn't resist the feeling that it sent to his groin.

Memories of that night came rushing back to Caroline, the way his hands ran over her body, her breasts, and now her leg. She didn't want to contain her feelings for him anymore. Shifting in her inner tube and rubbing her thighs together she was burning for him.

That night around the campfire Caroline sat close to Nik as they shared a blanket, she had to pick her moment right, so that Rebekah didn't become suspicious, "I'm going to run to the restroom," she said off handedly, as she stood from her spot on the ground.

Rebekah had just finished making a s'more and had bits of melted marshmallow all over her fingers, "It's not safe to go by yourself Care," she took a large bite out of her melting treat, "Nik go with her."

Caroline smirked to herself, the plan had worked perfectly, now all she had to do was put up a little fight and nothing would seem out of place, "I can take care of myself Bekah, I don't need anyone to watch over me."

Rolling her eyes Rebekah replied, "There could be God knows what lurking out in the woods and you are not walking down to the bathrooms alone. Your mother would have a cow if anything happened to you."

"Fine," Caroline huffed, faking displeasure. "Come along, my fierce protector."

Nik stood up and brushed some leaves off of his jeans before jogging to catch up with Caroline who was already walking down the dark path towards the restroom pavilion. "Bekah's right, you shouldn't be out here alone."

Reaching the door to the woman's bathroom and showers, Caroline turned to him and bit her lip, "I never intended to," and she grabbed his hand, pulling him into the bathroom with her.

They were lucky that no one was in the large room, but Caroline pulled them into one of the shower areas, closing the door and locking it behind them.

"What are you doing Care?" Nik questioned as she stalked towards him. As he backed away from her, unsure of what was happening, the back of his knees hit something and he was forced to sit on the bench that was built into the stall.

"I'm tired for pushing away all of the feeling that I have for you," she started, "I'm tired of pretending that your simple touches doesn't set my body on fire, and I'm tired of lying to myself." She perched herself on his lap, running her fingers through his hair and kissed him.

That moment started it all. They kissed for a few minutes before clothing started to come off, first his shirt, then hers. Nik stood, taking Caroline with him and turned, setting her down on the bench and knelling on the ground in front of her.

He kissed down her chest and then back up her neck to her lips, all the while running his hands up and down her legs. He would start at the ankle and make his way up the outside of her leg, but when he ran his hand up to the inside of her thigh, Caroline's body jumped with anticipation.

Slowly he ran his hand over the apex of her thighs, only her panties and a pair of cotton cheerleading shorts separated him from her more sensitive parts. He could feel her heat through the material of her shorts and it shot like lighting though his body and right to his manhood.

He was enjoying the sounds that she was making as he ran his fingers between her thighs. Her hips would jerk when he would pass her clit and moisture was starting to pool through her cotton shorts.

"Nik, please." Caroline begged, her hands gripping the edge of the bench, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back against the plywood wall.

Taking a deep breath, he moved both her panties and shorts to the side, where he was met by her beautiful pink, wet pussy. He wanted nothing more than to burry his face between her thighs, but he didn't want to over whelm her. So instead he continued with his fingers, running them up and down her slit. He would circle her clit a few times before trailing his index finger down to her entrance.

She was so tight, and he could only push his finger into her half way before meeting her barrier, but it was still enough to keep her mewing his name. As much as he loved the pleasurable words falling from her lips, he knew that anyone could walk in on them, "Shh, sweetheart, you have to keep it down," he said as he silenced her with his lips.

They kissed as he continued rubbing her inside with his finger as this thumb went to work on her clit. She now held on to him tightly and her legs quivered with ever one of his movements.

Then her whole body went stiff, she gasped into his mouth and her nails dug into his shoulders. Caroline's climax rocked her body as it came crashing down over her. She had given herself orgasms before, but nothing compared to this.

Once her after shocks had died down, Nik removed his finger from her and repositioned her panties and shorts where they were covering her again. "We should be getting back before they come looking for us."

Caroline's eyebrows knitted together, "What about you?" She asked as she palmed the bulge in his pants.

"There's always tomorrow night," he said with a cheeky grin.

Caroline had to hold on to him as she stood up, her legs felt like she had ran a marathon and as the material of her shorts rubbed up against her sensitive clit, a shiver ran through her. She looked up to meet his eyes and he looked at her in a longing fashion. "What's wrong?"

"Not that I'm complaining about what just happened, but every time we do this I'm forced to lose you right after," he cupped her face in his hand, "I don't know how many times I can be given hope, just to be rejected by you."

She had never thought about his pain, only her own and now she felt very selfish and guilty. Her hot and cold behavior towards their attraction had been hurting him, "This is not the end Nik, but only the beginning."

With that she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him with all of the pent up passion she had been holding for him for the past two years. She loved him, so much that it scared her, and if he was willing to try this relationship, than she was too.

* * *

** AN: This one was a little short but it was a good place to stop before we really get into it. Hope you enjoyed. ;)**


	6. 5

**This is unedited, but I had to get it out because I freaking love this story and I've been a very bad writer to all my readers. **

5.

Unlike Nik's teasing words, they didn't get a chance to sneak away from the group the next night. So although they were yearning for each other, they would have to wait it out, having agreed to keep their relationship a secret for the time being. Caroline had given into her own feelings, but she was still unsure of what Rebekah's reaction would be.

So before they all knew it, Nik was picking up his cap and gown as everyone else crammed for exams. Through all of the hectic mess of applying for colleges, prom, and the upcoming graduation, they had managed to steal away with each other a few times, lying to everyone about where they were going, or with whom.

The night before graduation they found themselves lying out on one of the few areas of Mystic Falls that wasn't covered in forest. They looked up at the night sky, stars dancing as the moon provided the only light, "I'm scared," Nik uttered in the dark.

Caroline turned to him, pulling her blonde hair behind her shoulder, "Of what?"

Nik exhaled and grasped her hand in his, "Everything really." His voice chuckled, "Graduation, going off to Uni, leaving my family…" he paused and turned towards her as well, "…leaving you."

She smiled softly at him, "Nik, you knew what this was."

"I know, but I could stay state side. Go to school in Richmond or DC so I could come home every weekend, and when you graduate you can come join me."

Caroline didn't know how to answer him; she had come to peace with the fact that this would be just a summer fling. He was going to go off to college in England in a few months and they would both move on. "You can't do that…"

Nik sat up, "I can go anywhere I want, and I want to be close to you."

"You got in to Oxford. You will be studying side by side with some of the most brilliant minds in the UK," she finally sat up, resting her hand on his shoulder, "you can't give that up for me."

He turned and buried his face into her curls, breathing in her scent of sunshine, "But I would…in a heart beat."

Taking his face in her hands, she brought his eyes up to meet hers, "I would never forgive you if you did, and you would never forgive yourself." She placed a sweet kiss on his lips, "Come August you will be in Oxford and this summer will just become a memory."

A tear slid from his stormy eyes as he tired to hold his expression firm, he knew what she was saying was true, expect for the events of this summer just becoming another memory. He would fight to be with her, he would come home any chance he could and insist that Caroline visit with his family at Christmas, somehow he could make it work, but for now he just had to get though tomorrow night's graduation and the party that his family had insisted on throwing him.

Pomp and Circumstance played out over the speakers as friends and family gathered in the bleachers of the Mystic Falls High football field. The graduating class, which only consisted of maybe forty people, was sat in folding chairs out on the field. Their gowns were red with gold tassels hanging from their caps, and they all wore their Sunday's best under the polyester gowns.

The administrators had already given their speeches as they now called up the valedictorian of the Class of 2001. April Young was voted most likely to 'Rule the World' by her classmates, and the title was dead on, she would most likely go on to become the first female President of the United States.

Her speech was short, but made it's point with just the right amount of humor and seriousness; she even threw in a few curse words as she quoted George Carlin, which got gasps from the parents and hoots from her fellow classmates.

After April took her seat again and the applauds died down, the Mayor came up to read off the names of the graduates and hand out diploma.

Caroline sat with the Mikaelson family, including Elijah who was visiting from England for the summer, as they watched Nik walk across the stage, shaking the hand of the Mayor and taking the red leather portfolio that held his high school diploma. There was no going back now, he would spend the next two months packing up his things and shipping them to his brother's house in Oxford where he would be living while attending university.

Once the last name had been called, the principle walked up to the podium, "Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, I give you the graduating class of 2001!"

Everyone cheered and threw their hats up in the air, Caroline chuckled at how cliché it all was, like she was in some cheesy 90's teen movie. Nik had enough sense to hang on to his hat, since his parents had paid for him to be able to keep it afterwards.

The family went out to the Mystic Grill for dinner after the ceremony, "We are so proud of you sweetie," Esther said, placing a kiss on her son's cheek.

"Mum, it's only high school," he laughed, wiping off his cheek. "You can make a big deal of it if I make it though Oxford."

"I have no doubt you will," Mikael also looked on with pride; his son had gotten into the best school in his home country and if all went according to planned, he would have another son running his business back in England.

They ate and talked about all of the exciting things that would be happening for Nik over the coming year, though Caroline reminded rather quiet, picking at her salad and only speaking when spoken to. While everyone around her was looking forward to Nik's future, she knew that she was losing the boy she loves.

After dinner, Mikael and Esther went to stay the night at the lodge inspired resort that was about an hour outside of town. They knew that their son and his friends would be partying into the wee hours and that Elijah would keep everyone in check.

Little by little people from the school started to file into the Mikaelson house at half past nine o'clock. They had all done their family time and now just wanted to cut loose since the underclassman were finished with their finals and the graduates were going off to college soon.

Elijah had pulled his brother to the side before the party, "Mother and father have entrusted both of us with this," he started, looking around the decorated living room, "gathering and would be very disappointed if any trouble was caused." The elder give his little brother a pointed graze, "Am I understood?"

Nik nodded, knowing that his parents were turning a blind eye to underage drinking in their home, and they were putting their faith in their two sons to make sure everyone had a good, but safe time.

By eleven the house was mostly dark, with movies going on in the basement and dancing on the main floor. Partygoer spilled out on to the back patio and everyone's hand was adorned with a red solo cup filled with any number of alcoholic concoctions. With their relationship still a secret, Caroline had hung around her friends most of the night, catching Nik's gaze from across the room every now and then.

As the night went on, and her intake of alcohol increased, she started to send more lust filled glances his way. This last time was finally his undoing as her piercing blue eyes found his over the lip of her red cup, taking a small sip of what was most likely melted ice and rum, Caroline watched him excuse himself from his friends. He walked past her, just close enough to run one of his fingers over her hand, and disappeared down one of the homes many hallways.

Waiting a few moments, Caroline slipped away from her friends and headed for the same hallway that Nik had gone down. Ditching her cup on a nearby table, she looked around the dark hall, "Nik," she whispered, "where did you go?"

Without warning, a hand reached out from a darken doorway and grabbed her around the waist, causing her to squeal with surprise. His lips were quickly on hers, silencing her and pulling her deeper into the room that smelled of leather and ash.

"I haven't been able to keep my eyes off you all night Caroline," Nik whispered into her neck.

Caroline took in her surroundings as he kissed along her neck and collarbone. The room was lined with dark wooden bookshelves, with a large oak desk at one end and a fireplace at the other.

Nik pulled her towards the desk, grabbing the back of her thighs and placing her on the desktop.

Thank goodness it wasn't littered with papers, she was sure that Mikael would have their heads if they misplaced or ruined any of his possessions. This thought quickly left her mind as Nik started to kiss down her neck and his hands started to inch up her thighs. Caroline let a satisfying hum leave her lips and his came back up to rejoin hers.

They were both lost in a world of lips, tongues, teeth, and groping to pay much attention to their surroundings, so when a throat cleared from across the room, they both parted with a start, Caroline quickly dismounting the desk and hiding behind Nik's broad back.

"Elijah." Nik stated through gritted teeth.

The elder straightened out his sport coat before clearing his throat again, "Yes, Niklaus…Ms. Forbes," the blonde ducked further out of sight at the mention of her name, "I regrettably cut your rendezvous short, but the party is coming to a close and I think Niklaus should see his guests off."

When he made no move to leave, Nik reached behind him grabbing Caroline's hand, "Thank you Elijah, I will be right there."

Nodding his head, Elijah turned for the door, and it wasn't until he was in the hallway that he allowed the brotherly smirk to adorn his face. He had only been home a few times since his family had moved back to this small town, but he found Caroline very agreeable, and a dear friend to his younger siblings.

Back in the office Nik turned towards her, cupping her face when she let out a groan, "I will talk to him, tell him not to say anything."

"But what if he does anyway, Bekah will be so mad at us." Caroline felt like crying.

"I will take care of it, please don't worry." He placed a soft kiss to her lips, "Come to me tonight, after my sister has gone to bed."

Caroline couldn't deny the pleading nature of his voice, so she nodded with a small smile as he kissed her one more time. Once he was out of the door, and she was left alone in the dark office, Caroline let out a shaky breath and slumped down in the large leather chair. They had been discovered and he had invited her to stay the night with him, and again she was reminded at how fleeting their relationship really was. In just a few short months he would be gone, and she would somehow have to move on, but tonight she was his.

It took about an hour for the party to thin out and Caroline was thankful when she was able to remove the pins from her hair and the heels from her feet. Rebekah had invited another one of their friends to stay over as well, so the three girls gathered in her upstairs room to get ready for bed.

The shower felt heavenly, seeming to rinse all of her nervousness away. Caroline slipped into her normal sleep ware and rejoined her friends.

"I had such a marvelous time tonight!" Rebekah gushed as she finished the single braid that held her hair at night.

Ashley, a freshman from the cheer squad flopped down on the bed next to the two blondes, "I have never seen so many cute boys in all my life, including your brothers!"

Both Bekah and Caroline had expressions on their faces as if they had smelled something funny. "My brothers are not cute, they are gross, and perverted."

"I know _you_ wouldn't find them cute, but come on Caroline, you have to be with me on this one, Nik is so hot!" Ashley pushed.

Caroline tried to control the blush that was threatening to rise, "If I didn't see him as a big brother—which I do—then I guess he could be considered attractive."

Ashley just rolled her eyes, "You guys are lame, and your brothers are hot, end of story."

"Moving on!" Rebekah demanded, much to Caroline's relief.

They talked for about another hour and the time was nearing two in the morning, Caroline hoped that Nik wouldn't think that she was standing him up, or that he would be asleep already. So when Rebekah let out a large yawn, Caroline quickly jumped to turn off the lights and settled on the end of the bed, leaving Ashley in the middle.

Thanks to the late hour and the consumption of alcohol tonight, it didn't take long for the other two girls to drift off to sleep. Caroline on the other hand was plagued with sweaty hands and a racing mind. She had decided that she was going to give herself to Nik tonight, and the thought both excited her and terrified her.

She knew that he had been with other girls before and she just didn't want to disappoint him, but with a steeled resolve she pushed back the covers as quietly and gently as she could and slipped out of Rebekah's over size bed, tip-toeing across the plush carpet and out into the hall way.

The whole house was dark and quiet, but she was relived when she saw Nik's door cracked and a small sliver of light reflecting out into the hall. Still being quiet, she straightened out her tank top and ran her fingers through her hair before padding over to his door.

Caroline lightly rapped her fingers against the dark wood door, pushing it open slightly and peeking inside.

Nik was on his bed, sitting cross-legged in only a pair of sleep pants, his sketchbook was in his lap as he looked up at her with a smile. He was off the bed in seconds, setting everything to the side and moving across his room to stand in front of her. "You came," he breathed out, running his fingers along her flush cheek.

"Of course," Caroline answered back, stepping further into his room, where he soundly closed and locked the door behind her.

They stood there, facing each other, unsure how to proceed until Caroline took in a steady breath and looked up to meet his eyes, "I want you."

Nik was taken back by her statement, "You have me, sweetheart"

Caroline rolled her eyes, guessing she would have to spell it out for him. Digging down deep she found some courage and stepped around him, going to sit in the position that she had found him in on his bed, "No Nik, I want you," she said again, clicking off the bedside lamp, allowing only the moon and a few lit candles to illuminate the room.

Realization dawned on him as he watched her pat the space in front of her on the bed. He almost tripped over his feet getting to her, but he made it safely to the bed and sat cross-legged, his knees touching hers.

"Are you sure?" He asked, hoping that she didn't feel pressured. Nik would not forgive himself if she ended up regretting this night.

"I love you," Caroline breathed out, "I'm sure." She said the last part with a little more conviction.

The resolved look in her pale blue eyes and her words were all the confirmation he needed as he leaned forwards and brought his lips to hers.

Their kiss soon deepened and with a slight nudge, Nik encouraged her to lie back on the bed, his body coming to cover hers. His hands roamed over her torso that was covered only by the thin cotton of her tank top.

She moaned out his name as his hand slipped under her shirt, though she also made an effort to keep her voice down so she didn't wake Rebekah or Ashley. His hands left trails of fire on her skin and she was thankful that his chest was already bare, so she could trace the rises and divots of his muscles as he flexed over her.

Their kissing progressed, her shirt found it's way to the floor. Next came her bottoms, leaving her only in a pair of purple cotton panties. Nik had nothing on under his pajama pants, which left nothing to the imagination. Every time he shifted she could feel him press against her lower body and it was beginning to drive her mad with lust.

As she pulled at the waistband of his pants he let out a groan that sent shock waves all the way down to her lady parts. When he removed his lips from her chest to ravish her lips again, Caroline took the opportunity to rid him of his super hero clad pajamas. She giggled, thinking that she was about to give it away to a boy wearing Batman pajamas; but that thought quickly faded as she ran her hand over his newly exposed flesh.

Caroline only had her hand on him for a moment before he jumped out of bed with an energy she didn't expect. She was confused as he headed for his closet. Nik walking nude across his room was surely a sight to see. His tight legs and backside flexed with every movement, but as he bent over she had to shield her eyes, thinking that she was about to see a little _too_ much of Nik.

When she heard his footsteps coming back her way she lifted the hand from her eyes and looked back up at him and the square package in his hand. _Protection, of course_, Caroline mused to herself, glad that he had the foresight to get it now before they got too carried away.

Nik threw the condoms on his nightstand and went right back to his place on top of his beautiful blonde. When Caroline reached to remove her panties he stopped her, "Allow me," he said with a smirk as he kissed her stomach. To Nik this was like opening the best gift on Christmas morning; not that he was expecting sex from Caroline, but he would thank his lucky stars that she had chosen him.

The small scarp of cotton was pulled down her legs and he leaned back for just a moment to take in her fully exposed body. She had curves in all the right places, and as his stare burned into her, a slight blush came over her creamy skin.

He went back to kissing her and reached one hand out to retrieve a condom, but Caroline grabbed his hand, "I want to feel you, just at first."

How could he deny her? He would make sure to put on a condom as soon as he felt that he was getting close, but he also wanted to feel her tight heat wrap around him with no barrier.

Placing their intertwined hands above her head, he reached his other hand down to the junction of her legs to make sure she was ready for him. She was slick with need and moaned at his touch as he swirled her moisture around her folds.

"Are you sure?" Nik asked again, wanting to be completely sure that this is what Caroline wanted.

She gave him a brilliant smile and nodded her head.

With the hand that was still running along her slit, he grabbed onto himself and continued the motion of his fingers with the tip of his hard manhood.

When he found her entrance and start to push into her, Caroline felt a heated pain start to grow from between her legs. She expected it to hurt, and Nik wasn't small by any means, but she wanted this and tried to put on a brave face from him.

Of course Nik noticed her discomfort and stopped his forward motion. Taking the hand that was holding hers, he brought it down and placed it on his hip, "Let me know when to move, you are in complete control sweetheart."

Caroline could only imagine what this would have been like with Lockwood, him diving into her, regardless of the pain, but Nik looked at her with love and concern. He didn't like seeing her in pain, but this pain would pass and she hoped soon pleasure would come.

Taking his cue, she gritted her teeth and pulled on his hip allowing him to slide another inch into her. More heat and discomfort and she could tell that he was about to break her barrier, so she let out a deep breath and pulled on his hip again.

A tear ran down her cheek, though she didn't know if it was from the pain or from the love she felt from the boy hovering over her.

Nik stilled completely seeing the stream of moisture carving its mark down her face, "Do you want to stop?" He asks, removing the tears with his thumb and placing kisses in their place.

"No," Caroline said, cursing herself for crying, "I think the worst is over."

And it was. His hips rested against her inner thighs and he was completely submerged within her heat. Now that he knew she wasn't in too much pain and he focused on the feeling of her wrapped around him, he almost had to pull out of her and go for the condoms.

He never thought that someone could feel so good, so right and perfect; but here was his Caroline, an angel with blonde hair fanned out on his pillows and breasts heaving with desire and looking at him like he was the only thing that existed.

Reaching down to kiss her he started to move within her. Very slowly and watching her body language for any signs of pain but all he received was mews of pleasure and her declarations of love.

A few minutes in he had pulled out of her and rolled a condom down his shaft, ignoring the blood the stained him, not wanting to embarrass her. He slid back into her with easier this time and his dark room was filled with sighs, moans, and a few surprising curse words falling from Caroline's lips.

Not able to hold off any longer, Nik kissed her deeply and quickened his pace, searching for release, which came moments later. Slowly his hips came to rest against her tights again and his sweat covered forehead rested on her chest, which rose and fell quickly.

"Did you..." He breathed out.

Caroline stroked his hair as his gray eyes met hers, "No…" she started and he looked disappointed, "…but we have all summer to perfect our technique."

This statement was both exciting and saddening; their summer would be filled with love making, but it was just for the summer and then he would go off to Oxford and she would stay behind in this small town.

Bushing those thoughts from his mind he brought his lips to meet her, whispering that he loved her between kisses.

* * *

** AN: I had a really hard time writing their first time, because let's face it, your first time isn't like in romance stories. I had to think back to my high school days and talk it out with some of my friends to get this done (one of my friends lost her V-card in the back of her mom's Toyota and I took my HS boyfriend's v-card on his 18th birthday and he was such a scared bunny). So thanks for waiting for this and I hope you find it entertaining. **

**Let me know what you all think! **


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